Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story
He's about to play the role of his life.
Flipping back and forth between the 18th century and the hapless efforts of the 21st century filmakers, Tristram Shandy is the making of a movie adapted from the notoriously unfilmable English literature masterpiece, The Life and Opinons of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, written by Laurence Sterne.
The story begins with Tristram Shandy (Steve Coogan) narrating his life story as he sees it. Crammed with literary jokes and dark humor, Shandy's warped childhood tales are constantly interrupted by his family and household, inadvertently revealing far more about himself than any conventional autobiogrphy.
At the dramatic moment of Tristram's birth, the 1st Assistant Director calls cut, marking the end of a filming day on the set of Tristram Shandy. We then see Steve Coogan, the other actors and crew through the course of a chaotic evening on set. Steve Coogan's wife arrives with their six-month-old baby; a journalist is chasing him about a scandalous story; his agent has arrived with a load of Hollywood scripts and the film financiers are threatening to pull the plug.
Member Reviews
A difficult one this. - movie_goer
"When did British comedy become boring? My guess; Sometime around this film's release."
I don't really get this type of "comedy" and I don't really like Steve Coogan. I do however like Rob Brydan and Gillian Anderson, but apart from that the film failed to impress me and I don't remember laughing once.
I turned of the DVD around the 20 minute mark after a toddler got his wee-wee caught in a window. Tristram was disturbingly inapproperiate, and grossly unfunny and on the verge of overly offensive! Not my kind of fun-pass!Odd... - ivarknut
Rarely am I more conflicted after watching a movie... Was this great or was it horrible? Was it funny or was it dramatic? Was it intelligent or was it silly?
I do believe the answer to all of the questions above is: YES. It's a little bit of everything.
Steve Coogan plays a version of himself, acting as Tristram Shandy. There are scenes of the movie being made, as well as scenes from the actual movie. It has a satirical look at filmmaking and of actors in general. There is a funny sequence where Steve Coogan is trying to further a plot element from the book, hoping to get more screen time.
Did I like the movie? Yes. Would I watch it again. Probably not. I think it's one of those movies you watch once and never again. Not because it's terrible, but because it just isn't that great.I don't know what to think of this film... - Filmgal
Tristram Shandy came highly recommended to me and it seemed to have everything going for it on the surface: an original and potential hilarious concept, a nice British cast, and great reviews. Instead, the film is slow, while often absurdly funny, its not interesting enough to keep your attention.
A cast and crew undertake the filming of an "unfilmable" novel on the life of Tristram Shandy (Steve Coogan). The actors playing the 18th century characters, also play themselves. The Zip synopsis isn't very clear...and neither is the film.
Not an unwatchable or terrible film by any means, this film will appeal to a particular crowd, but its definitely not a film for everyone on a Saturday night. Steve Coogan is everywhere in this film, so if you're not a fan of his, you're likely to be annoyed. At best, he comes off as smug and too self-satisfied- both as himself and as Tristram Shandy.
The best part of the film is Gillian Anderson, but you have to wait an incredibly long time for her to appear on screen. The on screen/behind the scenes aspect of the film is what first captured my attention, and the "reveal" that the 18th century events unfolding on the screen are a modern film adpation is quite clever- but not clever enough to keep you interested the entire length of the film, which at 94 minutes, feels too long.
I can't go out of my way to recommend it, but if you're curious enough to give it a try, you might enjoy it.
Member Reviews
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A difficult one this. - movie_goer
"When did British comedy become boring? My guess; Sometime around this film's release."
I don't really get this type of "comedy" and I don't really like Steve Coogan. I do however like Rob Brydan and Gillian Anderson, but apart from that the film failed ...Odd... - ivarknut
Rarely am I more conflicted after watching a movie... Was this great or was it horrible? Was it funny or was it dramatic? Was it intelligent or was it silly?
I do believe the answer to all of the questions above is: YES. It's a little bit of everything. ...I don't know what to think of this film... - Filmgal
Tristram Shandy came highly recommended to me and it seemed to have everything going for it on the surface: an original and potential hilarious concept, a nice British cast, and great reviews. Instead, the film is slow, while often absurdly funny, its not ...